Defence Forces Strength.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2006

Thursday, 23 February 2006

Questions (53, 54, 55, 56, 57)

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

24 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the strength of the Defence Forces; the extent to which it might be advisable to increase the numbers in view of the likely overseas postings under the aegis of the EU or UN; if he will consider this prospect at this stage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7418/06]

Michael Ring

Question:

58 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Defence the strength of the Defence Forces and reserve forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7217/06]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

169 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence his plans to increase the strength of the Defence Forces in future, having particular regard for obligations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7585/06]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

170 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the current and future strength of the Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7586/06]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

173 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Defence the number of women currently serving in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7590/06]

Written answers

Minister for Defence (Mr. O’Dea)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 24, 58, 169, 170 and 173 together.

The White Paper on Defence of February 2000 sets out a figure of 10,500 personnel for the Permanent Defence Force, comprising 930 for the Air Corps, 1,144 for the Naval Service and 8,426 for the Army. I intend to maintain the established Government policy of ongoing recruitment to the Defence Forces. Recruitment into the Permanent Defence Force will continue to maintain the strength at the level set out in the White Paper as required to meet military needs. The Defence Forces continue to have a proactive approach to all aspects of recruiting. The strength of the Permanent Defence Force, the number of female personnel by rank and the strength of the Reserve Defence Force, as advised by the military authorities, is provided in the following tabular statements. The figures provided are as at 31 January 2006.

The White Paper on Defence provides for an allocation of up to 850 Permanent Defence Force personnel to be deployed overseas at any one time through the United Nations stand-by arrangements system, UNSAS. While that may be exceeded for short periods, deployments above that level are not sustainable on an ongoing basis within existing resources. Any commitments to EU or UN missions will be met within that context. There are no plans to increase the numbers serving in the Defence Forces above the levels provided for in the White Paper.

Strength of the Permanent Defence Force

31 January 2006
	Lt Gen	Maj Gen	Brig Gen	Col	Lt Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Cadets	Total
Army	1	2	6	39	127	337	280	255	1,047	33	42	135	246	1,041	1,555	3,052	4,321	87	8,507
Air Corps	0	0	1	2	14	31	45	39	132	7	4	50	15	132	195	403	294	20	849
Naval Service	0	0	1	2	12	48	37	63	163	6	7	78	15	208	152	466	437	16	1,082

Lt Gen = Lieutenant General

SM = Sergeant Major

Maj Gen = Major General

BQMS = Battalion Quartermaster Sergeant

Brig Gen = Brigadier General

CS = Company Sergeant

Col = Colonel

CQMS = Company Quartermaster Sergeant

Lt Col = Lieutenant Colonel

SGTS = Sergeants

Comdt = Commandant

CPLS = Corporals

Capt = Captain

NCOS = Non-Commissioned Officers

Lt = Lieutenant

PTES = Privates

Strength of Females in the Permanent Defence Force

31 January 2006
	Lt Gen	Maj Gen	Brig Gen	Col	Lt Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Cadets	Total
Army	0	0	0	0	1	16	38	33	88	0	0	3	1	10	103	117	223	18	446
Air Corps	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	0	0	1	0	1	11	13	6	1	23
Naval Service	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	11	17	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	37	2	59

Strength of Males in the Permanent Defence Force

31 January 2006
	Lt Gen	Maj Gen	Brig Gen	Col	Lt Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Cadets	Total
Army	1	2	6	39	126	321	242	222	959	33	42	132	245	1,031	1,452	2,935	4,098	69	8,061
Air Corps	0	0	1	2	14	31	43	38	129	7	4	49	15	131	184	390	288	19	826
Naval Service	0	0	1	2	12	48	31	52	146	6	7	78	15	208	149	463	400	14	1,023

Strength of the Reserve Defence Force

31 January, 2006.
	Lt. Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Total
Army Reserve	4	108	182	366	660	21	22	117	109	866	1,453	2,588	6,151	9,399
Naval Reserve	0	4	10	12	26	0	4	13	1	23	32	73	275	374

Strength of Males in the Reserve Defence Force

31 January, 2006.
	Lt. Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Total
Army Reserve	4	108	182	313	607	21	22	116	107	801	1,076	2,143	4,112	6,862
Naval Reserve	0	4	10	10	24	0	4	13	1	22	25	65	187	276

Strength of Females in the Reserve Defence Force

31 January, 2006.
	Lt. Col	Comdt	Capt	Lt	Total Offrs	SM	BQMS	CS	CQMS	SGTS	CPLS	Total NCOS	PTES	Total
Army Reserve	0	0	0	53	53	0	0	1	2	65	377	445	2,039	2,537
Naval Reserve	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	7	8	88	98

Strength of the First Line Reserve

31 January, 2006.
	Total Offrs	Total NCOS	PTES	Total
Army	100	16	133	249
Air Corps	24	2	12	38
Naval Service	39	12	44	95

Question No. 25 answered with QuestionNo. 9.

Question No. 26 answered with QuestionNo. 9.